Instrument for measuring rotary oscillations of rotating shafts



E926; 9938 v,`-" A A, y u w l X 3 ,hama f l @if N0v.,4, 1941. F, ALLENDORFF 1 2,261,838'

INSTRUMENT Fon MEASURING ROTARY oscILLATIoNs op Romulus s-HAFTs Filed Jan; 13. 1939 Un vera 'vor INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING ROTARY OSCILLATIONS OF ROTATING SHAFTS Friedrich Allendorff, Stuttgart, Germany, assignor to Robert Bosch Gesellschaft mit beschrnkter Haftung, Stuttgart, Germany Application January 13, 1939, Serial No. 250,815 In Germany January 14, 1938 The present invention relates to an instrument for measuring rotary oscillations of a rotating shaft.

Rotary oscillations, the magnitude of which is not known at all clearly in most cases, occur almost throughout the rotation of shafts, especially the shafts of internal combustion engines, and up to the present time suitable instruments for measuring said rotary oscillations have not been available.

One object of the invention ismtoprQ/ ide a simple and compact instrument which will make it possible to separate the oscillations of a rotary member or shaft from the mere constant rotary movement thereof and to indicate these oscillations. A further object of the invention is to provide inexpensive means for ascertaining and indicating the magnitude of the separated oscillations.

According to the present invention to the end of the shaft to be examined, is connected a differential gear, the .housing of which is rotated uni-directional t0 the shaft and at such a speed that no rotation but merely rotational oscillations only of the shaft are transmitted to. the free shaft of the differential gear.

The invention is more particularly described with reference to 'the accompanying drawing which shows one form of construction diagrammatically by way of example and in which:

Figure 1 is a section through the instrument and. .i i..

Figures l2 and 3 are enlarged detail plan views of the means, adapted to be connected toV the oscillating shaft of the instrument, for indicating, and measuring the amplitude .of, the torsional oscillations of the shaft to be examined, these figures showing said means when said shaft is stationary or non-oscillating, and oscillating, respectively.

In the drawing, one end'of the shaft to beexamined is represented at I. One shaft 3 of a differential gear is connected to the end of the shaft l by means of Va. coupling 2, said differential gear having a housing 4 which in turn is rotatably mounted in a fixed frame 5. For this purpose, the housing 4 has two hol-10W end hubs or sockets 4l which revolve in bearings 6 housed in the frame 5.

On the housing 4 there is cast or secured a bevel wheel 42 which co-operates with a bevel wheel 7, driven by an electric motor 8 which is rigid with the frame 5 and the speed of rotation. of which can be regulated to a fine extent so as to compensate the rotation of the shaft l.

. In the interior of the differential housing. 4 are mounted in the usual way four bevel wheels 9, I0, II, I2, of which the wheel 9, as the driving wheel, is rmly keyed to the shaft 3, while the wheels IU and II rotate on an intermediate spindle I3 mounted in the gear housing. The

. end wheel I2 is seated on a shaft I4 which, like the shaft 3,. is mounted by means of bearings I5 in the hollow hubs or sockets 4I of the gear housing,

On theVY free end of shaft I4, which makes no m'full revolutons'but only rotary oscillations when In the example illustrated, such means for iny.

dicating and readily measuring the amplitude of such rotary vibrations or oscillations comprises a disk or base I6, secured to the free end of shaft I4, and provided on its outer face with a combined indicator and scale indicated generally by Il. The exact form, construction and mode of attachment of the indicator and scale Il may differ widely without the scope of my invention, but in the form illustrated it comprises (see Figs. 2 and 3) a diagram formed on or secured to the outer face of the supporting disc I6 and comprising anY indicator indicated generally by I8 and a scale indicated generally by 2l. The

scale comprises a plurality of equally spaced conv centric rings 2I I, 212, 2I3, etc. and the indicator comprises a plurality of opaque or black, leaflike, radially extending surfaces or star-rays 22 arranged to form a contrast with their background. These black surfaces or rays are sodimensioned that their width at each intersection with a ring subtends an angle of a predetermined number of degrees which angle constantly increases inwards from ring to ring, i. e. the width of each leaf-like ligure, measured in degrees of arc, increases at a constant rate radially inwardly from ring to ring over at least the major or outer part of the disc. At the outermost' ring 2II the width of each black radial gure or ray 22 is, for example sufficient to subtend an angle of two degrees at the centre of the disc, whilst at the point of intersection of each gure with the second ring from the outside (2I2) the width f corresponds to an angle. of four degrees and at the point of intersection with the third ring from the outside (2I3), the angle subtended is six degrees and so on.

Now if the disc with the shaft I4 and the disc I6 provided with the diagram I1 is set into rotational oscillations, then the leaf plate-like surfaces or star-rays 22 also oscillate to and fro in association. Should the amplitude of vibration be such that the angle subtended is, for instance, two degrees on each side of the mean or stationary position, i. e. a total of four degrees, then due to the high frequency of the oscillations the image of the rapidly vibrating leaf like figures or star-rays 22 (suggested by dotted lines 22|4 in Fig. 3) will be so represented to the eye that only the parts thereof overlapping at the two outermost positions of the surfaces will appear as dark or black surfaces. The tip of this overlapping surface is then located on the second ring from the outside (2 I 2) as shown in the black shaded parts because, on an oscillation through two degrees on either side of the mean position of each leaf or ray, the actual tpof each leaf figure and all the parts thereof located outside this ring, cannot be seen because they do not overlap during an oscillation of four degrees. With increasing amplitude of vibration the tip of the overlapping part surface of the figure Will thus continue to move towards the centre of the 4rings and it follows that the extent of withdrawal can be read off in degrees of the angle subtended by noting the particular ring and the fraction of the distance, if any, to the next ring of the point at which the tip is formed, and thus directly ascertain the magnitude of the rotary oscilla' tion of the rotating shaft,

If desired, any known means for measuring the frequency and the time of the oscillations of oscillating shaft I4 may be associated therewith.

I declare that what I claim is:

An instrument for measuring rotary oscillations of a rotating shaft comprising a differential gear, including a rotatable housing and a plurality of shafts and wheels rotatably connecting said shafts, one wheel of which gear rotates with said shaft to be examined, variable-speed means to rotate the housing in the same direction as said shaft and at such a speed that the opposite free shaft of the gear does not rotate, and a disc having concentric equally spaced rings and radially extending leaf like opaque surfaces thereon of which the Width corresponds at the point of intersection with each ring to a predetermined angle of torsion which increases at a constant rate with each successive inwardly adjacent ring, the said disc being connected to the opposite shaft of the differential gear to that connected with the shaft t0 be examined.

FRIEDRICH ALLENDORFF. 

